Rockford-area help with insurance sign-up still available

ROCKFORD — Most uninsured people have five days left to enroll in health insurance plans before the March 31 deadline imposed by the Affordable Care Act.

The law requires most residents to have health insurance by that day or pay a penalty when they file their taxes next year, though exemptions do exist (see healthcare.gov for the list) that delay the penalty.

Saturday: 8 a.m. to midnight at OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center, 5666 E. State St. (enter through the emergency department entrance); 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Kmart, 5909 E. State St., and 1 to 4 p.m. at the 1321 Sandy Hollow Road store; 2 to 6 p.m. at Memorial Hall, 211 N. Main St.

Sunday: 8 a.m. to midnight at OSF (ED entrance)

Monday: 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Lifescape; 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the health department; 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. at OSF (enter through the main hospital entrance).

OSF navigators are also available to assist residents from 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. The health department has walk-in hours and computers available for residents to use daily.

Federal officials will offer some leeway to people who try signing up for insurance by March 31 but can’t quite complete the process. If people try to enroll either online or over the phone by the deadline, they have through mid-April to ask for an extension.